Let’s brainstorm together. If we were the evil owners of a big social network, what would be the best way to use it to divide people? To sow discord?
“Ahh okay I know. What do you think if we just shove our own posts down people’s throats, filling their timelines with propaganda?” Nuh-uh, Mr. Kim. What worked in your country doesn’t work on the internet. If you do that, people get annoyed and leave. Then they complain about how the algorithm is ruining everything. Don’t spoil our plan.
If we want to do this for real, we have to put our egos aside. If we want to cause harm, the algorithm has to be actually useful. We want to show users thoughtful people. Interesting conversations. Thoughtful people having interesting conversations. The algorithm should make people happy.
Oh wait, what am I talking about. We’re the evil owners, remember? Ee-vil. So correction, the algorithm should make some people happy. People who come here looking for a good time, we show them happy posts. People who come here thinking our network is the worst thing in the world, we show them awful posts. People who come here looking for pornos, we show them pornos.
Basically we want to show people what they’re looking for. Make them feel like, ahh this is exactly what I expected. You don’t want to make everyone believe the same thing, that only unites people. You want to make everyone believe different things. And think the other side are idiots for not believing what they believe. It’s okay. Our network is big enough. There’s enough content to dupe anyone.
Then as our users spend more and more time on our network, their opinions start to feel less like opinions and more like common sense. That’s when we sit back and watch the fireworks. Some people will say, wow this network is so friendly and inclusive. Another group will say, what are you talking about. All I see is hateful posts. And the bystanders will say, I don’t understand what’s worth arguing about. Isn’t the app just for pornos?
The best part is we don’t look like the bad guys in this plan. Any algorithm that keeps you scrolling can achieve this. All we need to do is not touch it. So you understand now, Mr. Kim? These days, we divide people with algorithms. Propaganda is for noobs.